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Mama Mathers
Christine MathersInterlude 12.e II, to outsiders and her kin, or just Mama“Mama,” he said. She wasn’t his mother, but it was how she was addressed. - Excerpt from Interlude 4c II to Fallen respectful of the Matriarch. Personality Even among her fellow Fallen she is described as "off", despite her obvious intelligence. She is, by all accounts, a true believer in the ideology of the Fallen, and willing to kill members who disappointed her and their families. She has a extremely regressive view of gender roles, while at the same time an surprisingly progressive stance. Anyone can occupy any position within the family they want as long as they are dedicated to the "cause" and have powers.Her fingers traced his shoulder-length hair. “I told you to grow your hair long, back then.” “Yes, mama,” he said. “Do you remember why? Any boy of mine that does anything to catch my eye, good or bad, I have them do it. ... The girls know it, but the boys sometimes need to learn it. I’m content to let either be my soldiers, but that requires zeal. Not everyone has it. Not everyone cleaves to their role and position. Everyone has responsibilities, and it takes a soldier to obey.” Rain nodded again. Her voice took on a different tone. No less ethereal, but haunting-ethereal, now. “The hair is to remind you that if you won’t be a soldier for the families, we’ll have you be a slut. We’ll get children out of you. If you fail at that, if they’re sickly or disobedient, we’ll geld you like we would any of the farm animals.” - Excerpt from Interlude 4c II Everyone else is disposable. Appearance Mama is a emaciated women, heightened by her thin face and long hair that bleaching has rendered frayed and silver. This gives her the presence of an older woman, despite the fact that she is in her thirties, and makes her look fragile enough she could break. However, to people that were affected by her power she felt 'heavy'.Rain averted his eyes, but he could see the white drape of the nightgown, the feet on the floor. She was sitting so the post and the sheer drape kept him from seeing a lot of her. But he saw some. Her presence jumped into his head. He looked away, but it didn’t help. Mama Mathers. Taller than him, gaunt, wispy of hair. She wasn’t old, but she had the presence of an old woman, thin enough that it seemed like she would break or crumple into a heap if struck. She stood right next to him, leaning over him. She touched his face, and he flinched. ... He’d only seen her leg and foot, and she’d jumped into his head, tactile, audible, present, impossible to ignore. Now, seeing her in full, it was more pronounced, heavier, insofar as the frail woman could be ‘heavy’. Her hair was long, bleached silver, and frayed. Her face was thin enough that it appeared older. - Excerpt from Interlude 4c II She generally wore white, as did every other close family member of hers. :Loose color scheme: white is leader/important Mathers “Valefor and Mama Mathers,” I said. Rain nodded, then typed. - Excerpt from Pitch 6.2 Abilities and Powers Mama's power grants her the ability to induce hallucinations in anyone who percieves her, with the degree of control depending on how clearly she was percieved. The nature of the hallucinations depend the senses through which she was perceived. If they register her presence with any part of their Sensorium, including any granted by parahuman abilities, that sense is then affected. Most often, this involves auditory and visual hallucinations, though it is crucial to note that physical contact with her can result in her inflicting excuciating pain at will on her victims . Mama herself can also sense through the infected senses, - Excerpt from Interlude 4c II including anything provided by a power.Rain typed out his message, and held out the phone for Sveta, Capricorn and I. Vista and Foil drew close enough, and so they got a look too. :If you see mama you will start to see things. :If you hear… start to hear things. :Etc for touch/thinker senses :She can see/hear/thinker through these things I nodded. I’d known and inferred most of that. - Excerpt from Pitch 6.2 Since sight is the most common method of perceiving her, hallucinations can often manifest as if they have a Dybbuk of her imprinted on them. This dybbuk can interact with the imprinted person through the infected senses. Anytime a subject mentions Mama in any way, writing her name, talking about her, even thinking about her, a phantom image of her appears in their field of view and takes in the surroundings.If you see her, she can visually appear before you. The more you look at her, the easier it is for her to appear. If you hear her, she can speak to you. The more you hear her, the easier it is to appear. If you touch her, she can give you the sensation of touch. The more you touch her, the easier it is to appear. When she appears, she seems to be able to sense things around her image. Sometimes it's not her, but other things, like a sound of beating wings, spiders, or blood. At the most basic, she appears if you refer to her by name, in word or writing. As you get more exposure to her, it happens if you think about her, if you refer to her in abstract, or if you even think about her in general, like not wanting to think about her. If you use a thinker power? Effect is stronger, and affect things other than sight/hearing/touch. - Wildbow on Reddit It is unknown what her ceiling is for how many subjects she can affect, how the distance over which the connection is sustained, or how much information she can process. Regardless it is enough for her to create an ad-hoc communication network between those she has affected,Shadow 5.9. - Excerpt from Shadow 5.10 and carry on whole conversations without needing to speak.“Rain,” she said. “Look at me ... I will have you killed if you do not,” she said. He looked. He’d only seen her leg and foot, and she’d jumped into his head, tactile, audible, present, impossible to ignore. ... “Why would you leave, when we haven’t talked?” she asked. “You’ve been standing there, talking to yourself.” “Sorry, mama,” he said. He knew how she worked, but he couldn’t ignore the apparition in situations like this, because ignoring her and having her turn out to be real was the sort of thing that got him killed. “Everything I said to you before now, it came from within you. I saw and heard much of it,” she said. - Excerpt from Interlude 4c II Her powerThe idea of losing my mind like that terrified me, to the point I felt like my gut and my brain were bound in knots. I tried to focus that terror into a cold, rational look at what I needed to do. Mama Mathers was the biggest danger. Valefor was the second. They were Masters and Strangers, the PRT classification for those who controlled others or minions, and the classification for those who infiltrated or deceived. Mama Mathers and Valefor were squarely in the overlap between the two. - Excerpt from Shadow 5.12 acts as a harsh anti-Thinker ability that allows her to keep her kin covered from snooping eyes.The Fallen are slippery, and the reason they haven't been wiped off the map is that they utilize a cell structure and have some cover from parahuman abilities. Valefor's mom in particular. A thinker doesn't want to go scanning tracts of rural/unpopulated area for missing kids if it means a chance of seeing her looking back at them. Because if they do, then they'll likely end up in a brief coma followed by a year and a half of something like being convinced the walls are bleeding spiders. She has kids with buds from the same shard and farms them out to other branches of the family in exchange for some muscle (Eligos being some of that). Not that same degree of punishment or screening, but stuff in that general vein. - Wildbow on Reddit Those with any power assisted perception of her feel for the effect.chandra381: Honestly I think Wibblebub is wasted in any other genre than horror. ... Quick q: is she the same person as Valefor's Mom that WB mentioned earlier while describing the Fallen, who had some kind of anti-clairvoyant countermeasure? Wildbow: The effect is more intense if you use enhanced perception on her. - Wildbow on Reddit She is likely a Noctis cape, based on a preponderance of evidence. It is known that she can rescind her connection for a time,The woman’s hand, spectral as it was, felt real as it touched Rain’s hair. He flinched, but she persisted. He remained where he was, head turned away, neck stiff. “This was good,” Mama Mathers said. “I’ll reward you.” He didn’t move a muscle. “Enjoy your evening, my soldier. Tomorrow, we show them we’re not to be trifled with.” Rain turned his head, to look for clarification, but she was gone. There was a distant sound, like a flock of birds taking off. He’d slept on the train, but this whole scene was so surreal. She’d- He stopped, bracing himself for her appearance. For the physical contact. She hadn’t appeared. The sound remained. A thunderous flapping, far away. Mama Mathers, he thought. There was only the sound. She’d freed him? For only tonight? ... Mama Mather’s disconnected presence was like bird’s wings against the exterior of the house, rustling. - Excerpt from Interlude 5d II it is unknown what criteria are needed to reestablish it. Much like 'disconnecting' causes people to hear the sound of wings when they think of her; the effect might also tuned to cause powerful and disabling hallucinations.Byron spoke up, “Can you take a message back to her?” “I don’t know,” the biker woman said, sullen. “I don’t-” She paused. “What?” Byron asked. “She says no, no messages. Other stuff. She-” Her eyes went wide. She looked around, her eyes not focused on anything in particular. The woman’s voice carried forward, but it was an inarticulate sound, one that became higher, then a warbling shriek, followed by a gasp for air with a sound of its own. She dropped to the ground, fingers clawing in dirt, twisting like she was trying to get away from everything at once. The noises she made were horrible, and I’d heard some awful noises in my life. - Excerpt from Shadow 5.8 People who are only fleetingly register her in some way are still affected if only nominally, :Looksee: :Not peeking am reporting what others saying. Precog with me says Vista says that the hostages you want are toward south end of town. Map attached. The text had an image attached. I flew skyward, looking. A group. Valefor’s group, with Fallen civilians and others. The hostages. We could figure something out. White flickers danced in the corner of my vision. I looked away, but they persisted. Like the motes of dust in my eye, but akin to snowflakes. If that was their anti-thinker measure, which might well be Mama Mathers, then even the thinker-esque advantage of having a bird’s eye view was enough to give them an in. I grit my teeth. I’d seen the building Looksee had marked on the map. - Excerpt from Shadow 5.10 this can still be enough to blind deafen and distract people.Don’t spend too long looking, Capricorn. They’ve got a fucky-” I saw the camouflage distort as he brought his hands to his head. “-power,” he said. I thought about the visual ‘snow’ and it flared back into existence at the lower right corner of my eye. “The anti-thinker measure,” I said. - Excerpt from Shadow 5.11The whispers I heard were indistinct, but they came with a return of the white snow in my vision, moving in my peripheral vision and creating shapes that weren’t really shapes, like the way faces could seem to stand out from a pile of leaves or the light and shadow in a cloud. - Excerpt from Pitch 6.2 Restrictions/Drawbacks Her power can affect some technology, although does not transfer through it. Hallucinations do not persist while Mama is unconscious. Emotional attacks, and possibly other similar effects can effect her through the connection.I changed course, flying back to where I’d been. I continued down the street. I was putting the bulk of the lopsided engagement behind me, passing by Rain, by two twenty-ish capes with steel-gray hair, and that meant I could fly faster. I kept my eyes on the people and goings-on behind me. I found what I was hoping for. The screaming, just briefly, changed. The aura extended through the hostages to Mama Mathers, and she affected the hostages in turn. I had a sense of my range, and through that, I had a good sense of her location. - Excerpt from Shadow 5.12 History Background She was abandoned by her family because of her teen pregnancy. Her kid was an exceptionally early trigger, manifesting powers before he started walking. She was somehow found and saved by Cauldron, which offered her a deal. She was lucky enough to gain power that allowed her not uphold her side of the deal, unless she wanted to.Interlude 15.z Joined the Fallen and presumably founded the Mathers family. Had several children from multiple different fathers, such as Valefor and the one who called himself Lionheart. She also traded children to other branches in order to get firepower back. She attempted to kidnap and brainwash several Wards. One of the first of those was Sunflower, brought in by Valefor. Post-Echidna Her son, Valefor, attempted to claim Brockton Bay for the Fallen.Interlude 20.y Elijah failed and was blinded by the cities warlord, Skitter, in the ensuing battle.Imago 21.3 It is unknown how she reacted to this. Timeskip She lost another of her sons in a more permanent fashionWD Lincoln Mama, along with other Fallen group leaders, sent out several family groups throughout the North America after she heard about the End of the World prophecy.WD Fall River In order to prepare for it. Gold Morning Presumably participated, willingly or otherwise. Early-Ward With the amnesty Mama found herself in Earth Gimel with a large collection of fallen. She was mentioned as one of main villainous influencers in the new multiversal human society.“What about the ones who are hooked into bigger groups?” I asked. “That gets more complicated, and it’s less about the places to watch and more about the names to keep an ear out for,” my dad said. “Marquis, Goddess, Lord of Loss, Mama Mathers, the Crowley brothers, Deader and Goner, Barrow.” I knew the names and I knew where they were situated. No big surprises there. I nodded to myself. Marquis. So casually mentioned. - Excerpt from Glare 3.5 Mama had an interview with Rain were she made sure he kept the faith and that he was staying the course with his project to kill his other trigger mates.“It’s been years,” she said. “You only think about me a few times a day. I thought it was time we were reacquainted. You have your mission.” “I’ll kill my cluster.” “And be a loyal soldier. Think of me,” she said. “If you don’t, you know what will happen.” “Yes mama,” he said. “Allie. Your aunt and uncle. Erin, her family. And you won’t see me. You’ll see other things.” - Excerpt from Interlude 4c II She was a major factor when the Fallen compound came under attack.Shadow 5.12 She was captured, escaped custody, and was captured again. Post-Fallen fall She was being isolated in undisclosed location.Beacon 8.4 Later she was freed by Teacher.Time is of the essence. In a day, things might be too far gone. Your Mama Mathers, Rain, is gone. They’ll find out soon. - Excerpt from Gleaming 9.2 Post-Time Bubble Pop Under Teachers grasp, her health improved, and she actually started to look her age. Teacher used Madam Mathers ability to entrap a large crowd of people in Earth Cheit, including local leaders.The Overseer watched as Madam Mathers had her moment at the front of the dais. Center of the stage, just behind a short, balcony-like fence, stairs covered in red velvet stretching down to the city street on either side of the dais. She watched as nearly every eye present looked at the woman. With that, with one fell stroke, Teacher assumed the ability to cripple the capitol of Earth Cheit. - Excerpt from Black 13.x She was given free reign over them. She used her abilities to shape their beliefs in the ways of the Fallen.Interlude 15.z During the assault on the Teacher's Compound, she was tasked with capturing Chevalier's squad, but was thwarted after her victory by Precipice, Love Lost, and Colt. Post-Attack on Teacher Christine Mathers had returned to The Wardens' custody.The Wardens are considering discontinuing the sedation of the real Christine Mathers, but as you can imagine, that’s not an easy decision to make.” - Excerpt from Sundown 17.4 Fanart Gallery Mama_mathers.png| Illustration by Uberpigeon on reddit |link=https://redd.it/7zi990 mama.png|Illustration by FunkyTK1|link=https://www.deviantart.com/art/Mama-Mathers-733730864 Trivia *Wildbow had Mama Mathers planned for awhile.Not sharing Valefor's mom's power, as she's interesting enough I want to keep her in my back pocket. - Wildbow on Reddit Site Navigation Category:Females Category:Master Category:Villains Category:The Fallen Category:Thinker Category:Stranger Category:Characters Category:Vial Cape Category:Point of View Character Category:The Taught Category:Mothers Category:Mathers Family Category:Noctis Capes Category:Ward Characters